Only Madonna could make a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin all about Madonna.

Before presenting the Video of the Year award to Camila Cabello at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday night in New York, the Queen of Pop attempted to honour the Queen of Soul, who died last Thursday - the same day as Madge's 60th birthday - at the age of 76.

Rather than focus on Franklin's astounding life and career, though, Madonna's rambling speech seemed to pay tribute to her own path to stardom and how Franklin helped influence her when, as a struggling artist, she once belted out (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman to land an audition.

Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall, New York, on Monday night.Credit:AP

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A short video of Franklin was played before Madonna declared that Franklin "changed the course of my life".

"I left Detroit when I was 18. Thirty-five dollars in my pocket. My dream was to make it as a professional dancer. After years of struggling and being broke, I decided to go to auditions for musical theatre," Madonna said.

"I had no training or dreams of ever becoming a singer but I went for it. I got cut and rejected from every audition – not tall enough, not blend-in enough, not 12-octave range enough, not pretty enough. Not enough," she said.

Madonna paying tribute to the late Aretha Franklin at the MTV VMAs.Credit:AP

Madonna went on to explain that she "panicked" during an audition to be a French musician's back-up singer and dancer, and decided to try Franklin's classic (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, a cappella. She didn't end up getting the job, but she did go on to become a megastar later in her career.

"You're probably all wondering why I'm telling you this story" Madonna continued. "She led me to where I am today and I know she influenced so many people in this house tonight, in this room tonight. I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Long live the queen."

The backlash to Madonna's lack of self-awareness was swift, with hundreds of people taking to Twitter to dissect the tribute and many describing it as "disrespectful".

The singer addressed the backlash in a post on Instagram on Wednesday.

"Just to clarify: I was asked to present video of the year by MTV! And then they asked me to share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin!" Madonna wrote.

"I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her! That would be impossible in 2 minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show. I could never do her justice in this context or environment.

"Unfortunately most people have short attention spans, and are so quick to judge," she added, signing off with the hashtag "#positivevibes".

The singer's efforts reflected a relatively flat awards show overall, with Jennifer Lopez's medley of hits, including Waiting For Tonight, Jenny From the Block and My Love Don’t Cost a Thing being one of the few highlights of the night.

Following her performance, Lopez, 49, accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, and became emotional as she talked about her two children, Max and Emme, and partner Alex Rodriguez.

"It wasn't until I had two little angels come into my life, that everything changed ... my whole life became clearer in every way," she said of her children. "Now, today, I stand here stronger and better than ever. So thank you, Max and and Emme. There is so much more to do, and I know in my heart that the future is even brighter than anything I could have accomplished up to now because of you."

Lopez went on to describe Rodriguez as her "twin soul" and said her life is "sweeter and better" with the former baseball star in it.

"We are like mirror images of each other," she said. "You make me realise every day, [that] the sky is not the limit. The universe is infinite, and so is what we can accomplish together, with love and trust and understanding.

"There so much more to do and to experience, and there is nobody I would rather do it with, baby. You are my macho, and I love you."